How To Add Friends On Sony's PlayStation 4

Sony gives you more than one way to add friends to your PlayStation 4 via services you probably already use. In addition, it alleviates the problem of managing lists of friends with long emails and gamer handles, all with a game controller. There's a simple way to make sure you have all the online friends you need to boost your rank in Destiny 2 and it doesn't involve sending messages to everyone you know asking for a 12-digit code or using a D-pad to spell everyone's email address correctly.

Use the PlayStation App on Your Phone

You don't need to be sitting in front of your game console to improve your gaming social life. In fact, it will be easier if you're using whatever smartphone you've got. You can more easily manage your friends and linked services in the PlayStation app. Download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play store. It definitely beats using a controller or keyboard on your PS4.

You'll need a PSN ID to not only add friends to your PS4, but to purchase games, stream videos, and redeems game and PS Plus codes. You can create one either on your PlayStation 4 (create a new local User account, then select "New to PlayStation Network? Create Account") or on your computer through Sony's site.

After you sign in to the app with your PSN ID, hit the pair of smiling faces that is the Friends icon to see the friends you follow, friend requests in waiting, other users you've recently played, and players you might know based on your social media services. Hit the search icon to enter a friend's name or PSN ID.

Once you find someone you want to add, tap their profile, hit "Add Friend" and wait for them to accept or deny your request. Selecting the "Close-Friend Request" option lets you see the user's real name if you're not already Facebook or Twitter friends with them. Don't be creepy, keep the real name requests to a minimum, especially if you have no idea who someone actually is.

If you want to be keyed in to the activity from your friends while they're killing orcs or whatever, the PlayStation app can send you notifications for various messages, invitations, or friend requests (though you should probably the promotional messages from PlayStation off). You'll need to download the separate PlayStation Messages app if you're looking to do anything more than manage your friends or your profile.

Link Your Social Accounts

If you want to make it easy for your friends to find you on PSN, you can just link the social media accounts that already list you as friends. Associating your PSN ID with your Facebook and Twitter accounts can show you the PSN accounts of friends you probably didn't know had a PlayStation 4, and get rid of everyone's cheeky game handle whenever you see them in your console's news feed, making it easier to identify who's playing.

In the PlayStation app, hit the PS button followed by the Settings icon. Select "Link PS App with Services" and follow the instructions to link your Facebook or Twitter with the app. From there, you can search for friends who have also linked their social media accounts to their PSN ID.

Use Your Console (But Get a Keyboard)

The process is fairly similar on your console, but entering gamer handles or names repeatedly might be more difficult on that DualShock 4 controller. Get a Bluetooth keyboard and connect it to your PlayStation 4 so you don't have to worry about hitting the right letter in the console's tiny on-screen keyboard.

Make sure your Bluetooth keyboard is on and ready to pair. Then, on your PlayStation 4, visit Settings and select Devices. If your device is in pairing mode, the PlayStation 4 will automatically connect to it (though, in some cases, you might need to enter the console's on-screen PIN to authenticate the process).

Image credit: Sony

You can link the accounts on your PlayStation 4 by visiting Settings > Account Management > Link with Other Services. Add friends by selecting the Friends icon and entering their name or PSN ID. You can also use your PlayStation 4 to better manage whose updates you see so you're not riddled with news from gamers you don't really know.

In the Friends section you can choose the Unfollow tab and select whose updates you'd no longer like to see.

You'll still be friends with them, but you'll be able to relieve yourself of the hour-by-hour updates of how they're faring in Destiny 2. Using both the app and console in concert will not only ensure you've got someone to play with during the holidays, but you'll only be notified or made aware of updates from the friends you actually care about.

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